Closing time, man, identity, vocation and the end of work; a stage play as a representation of lives

grantor: University of TorontoIn this research I explore the careers of 11 men, chosen from among five different vocations, as they near retirement. Each of the 11 has pursued that vocation for most of his adult life. Two are bankers, two police officers, two university professors, three surgeons, and two trade union executives. By most measures, each would be considered successful and psychologically and financially secure. Through the lens of this life-history, arts-informed inquiry, each man regards his career and its impending conclusion within the context of his unique personal and vocational experience. Each acknowledges and has a particular view of his vocational culture. Each has a sense of his own accomplishments and takes considerable pride in them. Equally, each recites the late-life litany of goals un-met, paths not taken, options un-explored, opportunities squandered, and possibilities un-realized. Notwithstanding, and as retirement looms, each is satisfied with his career. The assertions that work defines men, and that men in turn define themselves by their vocation more than by their other roles, are supported by all 11 research participants. As well, their individual personalities seem to accord with the stereotypes for their individual occupations, but it is not clear whether this is by coincidence or design. Only one man has deliberately chosen his vocation. All tend to attribute their success more to inherent ability and hard work than to vocational learning. The participants seem un-preoccupied by and seldom raise issues of aging, health, or even their other, personal, clearly secondary, lives and roles. The expectation that men at the end of successful, life-long careers might have begun seriously to reflect on their careers and what they might want to do in retirement, is not borne out. Only one of them has done any retirement planning, and there are no programs within any of their vocational institutions to prepare them for this life-stage. In its representational form, this text is an arts-informed inquiry in that the research findings are presented as the script for a stage play, with the life-stories of five of the participants--one from each of the five vocational groups--intersecting. In real life, the five participants in this representation--interviewed separately and in confidence--never meet. But, across a table, in an imagined restaurant, through the fictive device of a play constructed largely from their own words, they and the researcher meet and talk and debate. The play, a lively conversation about career and the end of career, is called, "Closing Time." Included as part of this thesis is a 45-minute compact disc comprising seven audio-recorded excerpts from the play as performed by five professional actors and the researcher.Ed.D